We may be in the dark over end of world

Bastian McPhee isn't expecting the world to end on December 21, but she isn't ruling out the possibility it will soon plunge into darkness for a few days.

Ms McPhee is among hundreds of new-agers travelling to Uluru to mark the summer solstice, a date of doom for end-of-world buffs and rich in meaning for those who pay attention to the calendar of the ancient Mayans. The Mayans divided time into cycles of 5126-year periods, the latest of which is to end this month.

Ms McPhee, a reiki master-teacher and "medicine woman" at Wollongong's Lotus Health and Wellbeing Centre, said it was a misconception that the date signalled an apocalypse - the cycle would simply end and another would begin, ushering in a "shift in energy".

"I certainly know the Mayan people have never said that the world is going to end, even though that seems to be what the mainstream people say," said Ms McPhee, who calls herself Bastian Snakedancer.

Ms McPhee believes the shift will ultimately make people more flexible in their thinking. In the longer term, she expects indigenous people to gain greater recognition and respect, and major religions to break down because "individuals will start to take more responsibility for their own life and happiness".

The approach of December 21 has sent the internet into an end-of-world frenzy, fuelled by different readings of ancient prophecies and celestial alignments.

There are theories Earth will be hit by a meteor, that a blackout will occur from December 23 to 25 due to interplanetary alignments. Then there's polar shift theory, where the earth's crust will perform a rapid 180-degree rotation around the core.

According to NASA, "there is no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December, 2012".

Of the possibility of days of darkness, Ms McPhee is unsure.

"I'm just a little human being and these energies are mysterious. All we can be doing is be open to whatever comes. Even if the sun does get covered for three days, people [need to] ... remember it will pass and the world will carry on."

Ms McPhee will spend December 21 at Uluru meditating, drumming and burying crystals.